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Nika Schmitt (1992) makes sound installations and kinetic sculptures. In 2023, following a residency in New York, she started a new series of works that generate their own electricity by means of a feedback loop. In simple terms this means that the output determines the input. That sounds holistic, something which in theory is able to make connections for all eternity. But what happens when the circuit is interrupted?
This is exactly what we see happening in Ton Ton (2024) at Prospects:: from the ceiling a ceramic arm is holding its own power cable making uncontrolled, erratic movements. As long as the cable remains in touch with the steel plates on the floor, an electrical connection is maintained. The moment the contact is broken, the sculpture abruptly stops, only to resume shortly after.
We always expect technological equipment to do a perfectly streamlined job. In Schmitt’s sculptures, this expectation explicitly remains unfulfilled. Like a factory arm moving without a purpose, Ton Ton is extremely awkward, and therefore humane, animal even. In her works, Schmitt often forges connections between historical energy applications and the human body. This also applies to Ton Ton, as ceramics are among the oldest materials used to isolate electricity, and they are still used today. But earlier sculptures depicting human figure were made from ceramics as well. The ceramic arm is too fragile to actually be functional. Its movement alone causes an uncomfortable, grating sound between the joints, which at some point will wear out. Until that time, Ton Ton remains trapped in an endless dance with itself.
Text: Esmee Postma
Translated from Dutch by Marie Louise Schoondergang (The Art of Translation)